


Donnie gets five hugs

by servantofclio



Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: Gen, a tiny bit of Apritello, but mostly just friendly hugs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-17
Updated: 2015-12-17
Packaged: 2018-05-07 07:10:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5447750
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/servantofclio/pseuds/servantofclio
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Five hugs for Donatello. Different ages, different huggers. Brotherly hugs, parental hugs, friendly hugs. Just a fun bit of fluff.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Donnie gets five hugs

**Author's Note:**

  * For [theherocomplex](https://archiveofourown.org/users/theherocomplex/gifts).



**One**

“Leo, what are you doing?”

Leo started; when he’d crept out of their room, all his brothers had seemed sound asleep, and he hadn’t expected to be interrupted. He looked over his shoulder warily, but it was only Donnie now, blinking at him from the doorway and chewing on his thumb. “I’m making breakfast for sensei,” Leo explained.

“Why?”

Donnie always wanted to know why. Leo shrugged. He’d seen in a battered picture book that there were supposed to be days when kids did nice things for parents. Not having a calendar, he had no very good idea of which days those were, but it might as well be today, right? “Just to be nice. Shh, it’s a surprise.”

“Can I help?”

Leo was torn for a moment. He’d wanted to do it himself, which is why he hadn’t woken anyone, and besides Raph and Mikey would be noisy and much too messy. But Donnie would be quiet, so… “Okay. Can you cut the cheese?”

They didn’t have cheese often, so Donnie was very careful to cut small slices from it, while Leo made the toast. If only they could have some tea, too, it would be perfect, but Splinter kept the tea on an upper shelf, and at five years old, neither Leo or Donnie was tall enough to get to it, even standing on a chair, even trying to climb on top of the chair and each other. Leo scowled at the upper shelf in frustration.

“Wait,” Donnie said, scurrying off, and came back a few moments later with some wire and building blocks, his face screwed up and his tongue poking out in concentration.

It worked; with a little fiddling, they were able to pull down the box of teabags. Leo laughed and grabbed Donnie in a hug. “That was perfect! Donnie, you’re amazing!”

Donnie beamed, just as Splinter appeared in the doorway, hands clasped behind his back. “What’s this I smell?”

Leo couldn’t help a sudden guilty start. They weren’t supposed to go climbing around in the kitchen, after all. But it was for a good reason, so: “Breakfast, Sensei!” he said hopefully.

“Surprise?” Donnie added.

Splinter’s whiskers twitched into a smile. “Thank you,” he said, and leaned down to scoop them both up, one in each arm.

 

**Two**

Splinter heard his son approach, even though the footfalls were soft, and said without opening his eyes, “Donatello, you are supposed to be in bed.”

He heard the tiny gasp and smiled to himself in satisfaction. In truth, it was an educated guess: Donatello was by far the most likely of his sons to stay awake late into the night, with a book or insomnia.

And indeed, Donatello said, “I couldn’t sleep,” in a small voice, so Splinter opened his eyes.

“Come here, then.”

At the invitation, Donatello padded over and sat next to Splinter. If he were any younger, he would have simply crawled into Splinter’s lap, he reflected with a pang, but the boys were nine years old now. They were growing bigger and more independent: too self-conscious for such casual affections. “What troubles you tonight, my son?”

“I was looking at my science book,” Donatello said, looking at his toes. “But Raph and Leo said scientists were bad, that they just wanted to put us in cages and hurt us, and I don’t know…”

Splinter waited, but no more seemed to be forthcoming. He took in Donatello’s hunched shoulders and drooping head, and said, “Ah. I shall have to speak to them. It is true that some scientists might seek to capture you, and I told you all that so you would be cautious, but there are many good scientists.”

Donatello looked up at him, brown eyes big and woebegone. “There are?”

Splinter reached out then, and Donatello was not too old for a hug after all, coming willingly to be tucked against Splinter’s side. “Scientists do a great deal of good,” Splinter told him. “They study bodies so that we can all understand them better, and so that people can recover from sickness. Scientists studied turtles, and so I learned to care for you all when you were small–” and Donatello giggled when Splinter tapped his nose. “Scientists help us learn how the world works, and build many marvelous things. There would be no electric lights, or batteries, or subways, without scientists and engineers.”

“Oh,” Donatello said, looking thoughtful. “But they build dangerous things, too, don’t they? Bombs and things?”

“Sometimes,” Splinter said. “Science is a tool, like any other, and can be used for good and ill. Ninjutsu is much the same. When you are older, you and your brothers could use your strength and skill to hurt others, or to protect yourselves and others. The challenge is to act wisely, and for good.”

“Then I can do science after all, and not be a bad scientist?”

“As long as you take thought and care for what you do, yes.”

Donatello smiled, all traces of the earlier woe swept from his face, and Splinter smiled back, silencing the pang that the child’s ambitions were confined to the shadows. “Do you think you can sleep now, my son?”

Donatello nodded, but Splinter had to give him one last squeeze before sending him back to bed.

 

**Three**

“And now!” Donnie said, with a broad grin, to his audience of three brothers (expressions ranging from politely attentive to already bored). “If you’ll just allow me–” With a flourish, he turned and pulled the switch on his latest device.

The whole thing lit up, humming, and then there was a spark and a thud as Donnie flew back two feet, hit his desk, and slid to the floor. Raph nearly jumped out of his shell, and Leo gasped.

Mikey outright screeched. “AAAHHHHHH NOOOOO IS DONNIE DEAD?”

“He’s not dead, you numbskull,” Raph growled, though he grabbed Mikey to keep him from running over, with a wary look at the now-smoking machine. Leo was already picking his way over there, anyway, reaching toward their fallen brother.

Mikey’s lip wobbled. “But–”

“He’s not,” Raph insisted. “Right, Leo?”

Donnie popped up then, eyes wide, coughing. Leo, surprised, yelped and jumped backward, nearly falling over. Raph filed away that picture to remember later, even though his heart was still pounding. “Oops!” Donnie proclaimed.

Raph’s eyes narrowed. “Oops?”

Donnie laughed nervously, rubbing a hand over his head. “So, um, I guess that one needs a little more work…”

Leo groaned. “Donnie! Are you sure you’re all right?”

“I’m fine! Really! Just a little shock, no harm done!”

Leo sighed, obviously preparing himself for lecture mode. Mikey slipped out of Raph’s loosening grip and went bounding over to throw his arms around Donnie, babbling something about how scary-awesome that was. Raph rolled his eyes as Leo started talking and slugged Donnie in the arm instead.

“Ow!”

“Don’t blow yourself up again,” Raph told him, and walked out before Leo could really get going.

 

**Four**

Casey knew as soon as he looked out the farmhouse window and saw the fresh snow what was coming. He barreled down the stairs anyway, hoping he was wrong, and shouted, “Whose turn for shoveling?”

“Yours,” four voices answered in unison.

Casey scowled at the kitchen. Okay, fine, Leo was still getting better and didn’t need to be shoving snow around, and April and Mikey actually looked like they were making breakfast, but Raph? He was just sitting around on his big green tail, smirking. “Ah, c’mon, guys, it doesn’t take all four of you to make breakfast!”

“I did it last time,” Raph said. “Besides, you and Donnie were the last ones to wake up, so. Get to it, Jones, better get a move on.”

Casey made a show of groaning in protest. April rolled her eyes. “Donnie’s already out there, Casey, go on and help him. The waffles will be ready when you’re done.”

“Assuming we leave you any,” Raph added.

“That ain’t an incentive,” Casey pointed out.

“I’ll make sure they leave you some,” April said, stirring the batter.

Waffles, okay, that was something. Casey still went out grumbling. There was gonna be a reckoning when it came to snowball fight time later this afternoon. He put on his boots and coat and grabbed the second shovel and stepped out.

Donatello, the nerd, was shoveling the walk with mathematical precision. Somehow the edges were squared up and neat, and every time he threw a load of snow, he bent his knees and aimed the shovel just the right way. God. It drove Casey fuckin’ nuts. Dude’s gotta let loose sometime, y’know?

So Casey let out a battle roar and skidded his way down the icy sloping walk, fast enough to grab Donnie in a bear hug before he could whirl around and clock Casey with the shovel, and they both went down into Donnie’s perfectly stacked snowbank, with Donnie sputtering and complaining until Casey whispered, “Dude, if we take our time we can stockpile some snowballs and get your bros later.”

 

**Five**

“I’m going to die,” April moaned, pacing around the lab.

“You’re not going to die,” Donnie replied, calmly and reasonably.

“The Kraang didn’t kill me,” April said, “and the Foot didn’t kill me, and the Triceratons didn’t kill me, but these exams are actually going to kill me.”

“No, you can do this. You’re a good student, April!”

April laughed, wheeling around and wiping a straggling lock of hair out of her face. “I was a good student, before I became a part-time kunoichi. Or before I had trigonometry. I’m not sure which was the problem.” She makes a face.

“You did fine in trig.”

“With your help.” April flopped gracelessly into a wheeled chair and spun herself around in it. “I’ve missed too much stuff with everything that’s happened. Wouldn’t it be hilarious if I didn’t get my high school diploma? My _dad_ is going to kill me.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Donnie said firmly. “You can do this, and I’ll help you if you need it, but you can do this. You’ve got this. Come on, what’s on deck?”

April sighed and began pointing to the stacks of notes piled up in a row. “Physics. Calculus. U.S. government and history, I guess that shouldn’t be too bad, it was a pretty easy class. English, ugh. It wasn’t enough I had to write a huge paper on deceit and deception in Shakespearean plays, I still have to take an exam, and I don’t know a dactyl from a trochee.” She rubbed her eyes. She already had dark circles under them. “I may be beyond help, Donnie.”

“Nonsense,” he said. “Let’s start with physics and calc, they go together. I’ll go start some coffee.” Caffeine was going to be essential to this project, he could tell. (though honestly, when wasn’t it?)

He started toward the kitchen, but April grabbed his arm to stop him, and tugged until he had to bend over. Then she flung both her arms around his neck. “You are the absolute best,” she whispered. Donnie laughed a little, but April didn’t let go. She held on for a long moment, her arms warm and strong, and when she let go she was smiling. Donnie straightened up, smiling back. “Coffee?”

“Coffee,” she agreed, reaching toward her notes with a sigh.


End file.
